Foreign nationals to get bonus, pay raises during furlough

Tuesday

Jul 16, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 16, 2013 at 6:31 PM

As more than 19,000 North Carolinians face government furloughs, German workers employed abroad by the Department of Defense will receive pay increases and bonuses totaling more than $16 million into 2014.

THOMAS BRENNAN

As more than 19,000 North Carolinians face government furloughs, German workers employed abroad by the Department of Defense will receive pay increases and bonuses totaling more than $16 million into 2014.

“There’s too many families in North Carolina who are struggling to make ends meet,” Senator Kay Hagan said during a phone conference on Tuesday. “Their work is critical ...and they deserve to be treated with respect.”

Hagan, D-N.C., sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on July 1 expressing her concern with the foreign national pay raises of 30 Euros per month in addition to a 500 Euro bonus. She questioned the Department of Defense giving pay raises to foreigners during a time when 650,000 DoD employees across the country have been furloughed.

Hagan said she heard back quickly.

“These pay increases will proceed, but I have obtained assurance from DoD that there will not be pay increased to foreign nationals while U.S. taxpayers are being furloughed,” she said.

Hagan’s letter pointed out that while only a few thousand U.S. government employees were exempted from the furloughs, all foreign nationals were exempted.

“Workers in North Carolina will see a 20-percent pay cut each month of the furlough for a total loss in pay of $64 million … (The) most disturbing issue is the justification behind these pay increases, which are not required by any law or statute,” wrote Hagan.

The Department of Defense, according to information obtained by the Department of the Senate Armed Services Committee, believed that failure to reach a pay agreement could lead to a strike.

“When hardworking U.S. Department of Defense civilians are being furloughed and have not seen a pay increase in several years, I believe the (DoD) should be willing to stand up to this pressure from German workers,” Hagan said. “This is not the message we should be sending to the hardworking Americans who are supporting our military bases across the United States and around the world.”